making news this morning, the fight for second. it's primary day in new hampshire. with mitt romney's lock on the top spot, it's an all-out battle for second place. with the front-runner facing new criticism. did he really say he liked being able to fire people? winter's wret texas style. ripping apart building, suspected tornadoes. another title. tuscaloosa. the alabama crimson tide take the title. shutting out lsu in the big championship game. good morning, everyone. i'm paula faris.

>> and i'm rob nelson. today's new hampshire horse race is all about second place. >> the nation's first primary starting with voting just after midnig midnight. >> t.j. winick is with us. good morning, t.j. >> reporter: rob and paula, good morning. it's primary day here in new hampshire. as you said, the only surprise might be who finishes second to mitt romney. the votes are in in dicksville notch. the tiny vil lauj renowned for casting the first ballots. jon huntsman and mitt romney tied. >> reporter: the former massachusetts governor leads in one poll here by 24 points. yesterday, made one of the biggest slips. >> i like being able to fire people that provide services to me. >> reporter: he was trying to

make the case that americans should be able to choose their own health insurance, to drop a company if they liked. >> governor romney enjoys firing people. i enjoy creating jobs. >> reporter: and the multimillionaire front-runner uttered this line earlier. >> i know what it's like to worry if you're going get fired. there were a couple of times i was worried about getting a pink slip. >> i have no doubt whether mitt romney was worrying about pink slips. whether he had enough to hand out. >> reporter: the campaign aches senior strategist called romney's words rare moment of candor. >> things can always be taken out of context. i understand that that's what the obama people will do. >> the suffering began when mitt

romney came to town. >> reporter: his company created 100,000 jobs, a net gain, when asked how many jobs his company slashed, his campaign refused to answer. >> why does he want to see all the candidates stay in the race through south carolina? what good comes out of that for him? >> it's clear that the conservatives see south carolina as a fire wall to stop mitt romney, if any place. it's a more conservative state. a state where gingrich, santorum hope to do well. right now, romney has the enzormt of the popular governor down there. as long as the conservative candidates stay in the race, they split that vote three ways. >> stay warm out there, t.j., thanks for joining us. >> with that hood, you'll be

warm. >> our entire team will bring you the results tonight live right here on abc. just as the president is kicking his re-election bid into high gear, he's losing a key adviser. chief of staff bill daley is stepping down. he wants to return to his chicago home and spend more time with his family. budget director jack lew will take over for daley later this month. an american was essential densed to death by iran for s z spying. the u.s. strongly denies that amir hekmati is a spy. a man from the tampa area is being held this morning on terrorism charges. this man was said to have plotted to destroy nightclubs.

if convicted, he could face life in prison. houston starts to dry out today after getting swamped by a fierce storm. the historic drought is far from over. the rain came down with a vengeance yesterday, knocking out power to thousands and stopping drivers in their tracks. more now from ryan owens. >> reporter: hundreds of motorists were stranded in this commute. portions of the heavy traveled loop, shut down. this woman gave up on her car. >> i came out, all if roads were flooded. i ended up walking over there. it's insane. >> reporter: at one point, the rain was coming down at an astounding 2 to 3 inches an hour. the city's drainage system was no match. look what the water did to this manhole cover. the owner of an animal rescue ranch moved dozens of dogs and horses to huer ground so they wouldn't drown. >> there are 56 dogs and 5

horses. two horses are in the flood zone right now. >> reporter: with the rain came the wind. ripping roofs off houses and causing power outages at more than 20,000 homes and businesses. at this elementary school, parents and firefighters had to give children a lift. after the driest year on record, plenty of texans were prayer for rain. this state got too much of a good thing. ryan owens, abc news, dallas. >> extreme drought, extreme rain. no nice medium for the folks in texas. >> but a little warmer. >> we'll take that. time for a look at werth fr weather from across the country. flurries in the dakotas and northern new england. a rain maiker in the south drenching everything from memphis to atlanta. a foggy morning in the carolinas. >> 74 in new orleans.

47 in new york. record highs in the middle of the country. 50 in minneapolis, 54 in chicago. and 56 in kansas city. phoenix at 67. salt lake city 43. coming up next after the break, the latest from wall street. trouble for twinkies. could bankruptcy be on the horizon. and surprise in detroit. who won the car of the year? and so much snow, even too much for these alaskans. they had to call in the military to help out.

asian markets were up today on pretty good news from the u.s. and despite continuing worries about europe. tokyo's nikkei average picked up 32 points. hong kong's hang seng gained 139. on wall street, the dow rose 33 points. the nasdaq was up 2. well, the company that makes twinkies and wonder bread is reportedly close to bankruptcy. hostess brand is being squeezed. it owes suppliers more than $50 million. big branging rights this morning for hyundai. it's elantra sedan is now the north american car of the year. the elantra's sales surged 41%

last year. it's selling as many as it can make. one of the hot new cars at the north american car show is the acura nsx. it's a high bride that is economical with fuel. it will be built in the state of ohio. and tim tebow entered the recordbooks on sunday. that 80-yard touchdown pass in denver against pittsburgh in overtime set a twitter record. it's second on the all-time list. it sent the broncos onward. they're going to go against the patriots this weekend. >> tebow is almost playing as good as drew brees. i had to throw in my saint there is. next on this tuesday morning, two alaska towns in big trouble because of extremely rough winter weather. and later, the washington woman who is adidicted to

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look at that, after weeks on unseasonably warm weather, the nation's capital is finally getting a real taste of winter. the white house looked like it was in the middle of a snow globe. flurries fell through washington, d.c. about half inch of snow fell. new hampshire voters should have an easy time getting around with just a few flurries on tap for today's big primary. rain soex i-10, 20, and 40 across the south. icy on parts of i-15 and 90 in the morning to rockies. if you're flaying, airport delays possible in dallas, new

orleans. the alaskan fishing village of cordova is struggling to dig out. >> it's been snowing for nearly a month straight. david wright has more. >> reporter: a tiny town in alaska buried by the blizzard of 2012. 175 inches of snow in 24 days. nearly 20 feet. for everyone that has ever shovelled a driveway, imagine if this is the path to your front door. >> this is epic. >> reporter: with all sympathy, it's kind of what you sign up for in alaska. >> contrary to popular opinion, we don't all live in igloos here. >> reporter: it sure feels like they do now. rochelle is the unofficial news bureau. documenting on youtube the

monumental effort of this 2200-person town to dig out and make due. this is the new beer cooler. street signs are spray paint on a snow drift. >> it's hard to knock us down. >> reporter: even an 18-foot wall of snow? >> bring it on. not really. we don't want that. >> reporter: there's no road into town. now the snow has frozen over the airport and the harbor. the national guard troops finally arrived to help. >> the cavalry has arrived. not a second too soon. >> reporter: another big snowstorm is headed their way. david right, abc news, los angeles. >> i will never complain about snow in new york again. well, clear on the other side of that state, a crucial oil ship chlt is having a tough time getting to nome.

a big storm canceled the regular oil shipment leaving nome in a short supply. fbi investigators have joined the serge for a popular high school teacher missing from her sidney, montana, home on saturday. sherry arnold went out for an early morning run and never returned. the only trace of her so far is a single running shoo. her family confirms it belongs to her. and the search for a missing college student in wisconsin has ended tragically. a body believed to be michael philbin. he's the son of packers offensive coordinator joe philbin. he disappeared after a saturday night out with friends. time now for sports news. with apologies to hockey and basketball fans. today, sports can only mean one

thing. the national championship. >> good morning, welcome to your espn news update. i'm zubin mehenti. two teams took the field last night. still waiting for lsu to show up. trent richardson, held to just 89 yards in the first meeting picks up 20. leads to a bama field goal. they were up 9-0 at the half. up 12-0, a career long 44-yarder. got it. the demons from the previous game going away. an actual touch isdown. the only one in eight quarters of football. alabama wins, 21-0. lsu, 92 yards of offense. barry larkin, elected to the baseball hall of fame. dwight howard wants out.

and marty schottenheimer interviewing with the bucs. >> hard to see, isn't it? >> they played a lousy game. the most lethargic i have seen them. >> you beat them in the regular season. >> that means so much this morning. at least i still have my saints. >> i wonder what it's like right now in new orleans. >> oh, they're partying. just not the right team, unfortunately. >> where could thousands of bama fans celebrate and lsu fans wall lowe in their missry? >> bourbon street. college football fans shouting, hugging, trading beads. maybe having a sip or two of an adult beverage. it could be well past dawn before that party is over. >> hard to see it happen on their home field. >> it's a bitter pill this morning. i'm not going to lie to you. congratulations, bama. you played a better game. there's no excuse.

>> when you don't show up, you don't show up. up next, "the pulse" which ceo earned $400 million last year? and the 4-year-old and the lion. little sofia, she didn't even flinch. [ female announcer ] lactaid milk is easy to digest.

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well, we do it every morning around this time. time to check "the pulse" the stories you'll be talking about. >> it's not going to be easy to follow in steve jobs' footsteps. tim cooke will be rewarded for it. he was given a compensation package worth almost $380 million. >> his basalry is a mere $-- bae salary is a mere $900,000. >> in 2010, he got a bonus and stock worth $53 million. he's doing okay. one woman from washington state doesn't make that kind of big money. who does? she makes money from entering contests. up to 150 a day. >> it pays off. she's won jewelry, trips to meet famous people, boats, and cash.

her living room is filled with her loot. april says in her best year, she won about $65,000 in prizes. she sells some of it on ebay. >> if it pays the bills, you go. she may be tiny. but she has more heart than most of us. >> the 3-year-old goes face to face with a lion. he shows is off the huge paws. she barely flinched. >> unbelievable. >> look at her. mommy, look. >> it takes a 3-year-old to be that fearless. we're all thankful for that very sturdy piece of glass. >> how would you have reacted? >> i would have wet myself and been down the block before that thing started roaring. >> that's how preschoolers roll. brave. >> not me. >> for some of you, your local

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updating the day's top news stories. new hampshire voters go to the polls today in the nation's first primary. mitt romney is expected to finish strong. overseas, 25 people have died after a bombing in pakistan. they were members of an armed group that opposed the taliban. it's the worst violence to hit there in several months. a much calmer day in houston. powerful storms and heavy rains sent people rung for cover. thousands of folks there were left in the dark. a look at today's weather, snow in the morning to rockies. heavy rain from little rock to atlanta. light snow in northern new england. it won't be long before that

ipad will look like a rusty typewriter. >> if you want to learn mbt about what's on horizon, here's becky worley. >> reporter: 150,000-plus people expected here. it's about toys and tools. the first toy is the playstation vida. an immersive games screen. touch panels on the back, touch screen on the front. it's connected. they call it son sole-like gami gaming. you can play with other people, via wi-fi or over connected cellar networks. it pl it plays movies. it will have netflix movies available in february. another cool toy. you put this's gear on to your

ipod touch, and the camera lets you play. i'll show you on an ipad. it's so much more visual. i can see, the enemy is appro h approaching. let's get to the tools. a big category coming out, ultra books. this is from vizio. the whole ultra book concept is thin and light. many of these, thinner than the face of a dime. battery life, five to nine hours. somewhere between 30 and 50 ultra books coming out. finally, camera. this is from polaroid. it takes pics. it's also an android device. that's the early report from the consumer electronics report. i'm becky worley, f